bentonite clay users

[smartyjones]

those using bentonite clay. . . are you using it to relieve stomach distress or are you using it to clear possible digestive issues that result in other troubles?

my son does not seemingly have digestive distress but i do know how much that system relates to immunity. i will discuss with our dr at next appt but was curious what motivated you to use it.

thanks.

[MomWithOCDSon]

those using bentonite clay. . . are you using it to relieve stomach distress or are you using it to clear possible digestive issues that result in other troubles?

my son does not seemingly have digestive distress but i do know how much that system relates to immunity. i will discuss with our dr at next appt but was curious what motivated you to use it.

thanks.

 

We were motivated because DS has always had some "tummy trouble." Pre-PANDAS, I associated it with his general anxiety and assumed that it was just another arena for his OCD to focus upon and try to cause him trouble. Then, once we'd gone the PANDAS route and I'd tuned in here, I kept hearing things like "Healthy gut, healthy mind," etc. Then our psych actually reiterated the fact that there are serontonin receptors in the gut, and the light bulb just kept getting brighter and brighter (sometimes, my bulb runs a little dim! ).

 

Plus, with the abx, despite some 160-170 billion units of probiotics daily and lots of bananas and apple sauce, DS was still contended with bouts of gas, bloating and diarrhea. So I figured it was worth a try, even if at a very low, slow level initially.

 

It has been nothing short of a miracle for him digestion-wise, and, interestingly enough, he has commented that he began to feel better mentally about the time we began the clay! I honestly don't know if he's had strep in his gut all this time (we've never found it, as he's been classically asymptomatic and negative throat cultures whenever we've had them), or if its that he needed to clean out die-off, yeast, etc. Whatever reason, though, it does seem to have contributed to an improvement.

[KeithandElizabeth]

We are big advocates of the bentonite clay. We work with a nutritionist who guides us on how best to use bentonite and following is her You Tube video about what bentonite does within your body. I have to say that my son will not take bentonite, so I give him charcoal pills instead. My daughter takes 1/3 cup of bentonite a day. It REALLY helps with herxing, but we mainly use it to rid the body of acidity.

 

 

 

Elizabeth

[Chemar]

just an FYI

 

when using bentonite clay internally, please be sure to get calcium bentonite and not sodium bentonite (aka Fullers earth) as the latter is for external use and can have unwanted side effects if used internally

 

from my understanding it is ok to use specially formulated blends of calcium bentonite plus sodium bentonite, but not to use the sodium form alone

Edited May 30, 2010 by Chemar
clarifying

[Stephanie2]

How is bentonite clay different from activated charcoal...any difference? Does it have to be taken away from supplements/meds?

Stephanie

just an FYI

 

when using bentonite clay internally, please be sure to get calcium bentonite and not sodium bentonite (aka Fullers earth) as the latter is for external use and can have unwanted side effects if used internally

 

from my understanding it is ok to use specially formulated blends of calcium bentonite plus sodium bentonite, but not to use the sodium form alone

[Chemar]

Hi Stephanie

 

I have never used activated charcoal but from my understanding it is used primarily to absorb toxins, whereas bentonite is both anti-tox and cleansing/healing

 

I was given bentonite when recovering from severe pesticide poisoning (doused by a malathion crop sprayer killing mosquitoes while I was on an early morning beach walk )

 

My instructions were to take it on an empty stomach and wait a few hours before eating or taking supps

 

it can also interfere with absorption of some medications so a good idea to discuss with a doctor if on meds

[tpotter]

I also just went online to see about any side effects, etc. Several sites said not to take it more than 1 day, & TAKE PSYLLIUM HUSK with it. Apparently, the Bentonite Clay can severely constipate you. What they said was: the bentonite clay basically soaks up the toxins, and then drinking a lot of water, and taking psyllium husk will get it to move out of your system. But, they also said not to take it more than 1 day. I plan to try it on myself, before I try it on my kids (2 drs, including Dr. K. and a chiropractor have both told us that my 17 year old's PANDAS is coming from his stomach. My 14 yo also complains constantly about his stomach hurting when his PANDAS flairs up!) I have a terribly acidic stomach, and have been having to take 150 mg - 220 mg. twice a day of zantac to control my asthma. Any suggestions on brands you've had good luck with would be greatly appreciated.

[MomWithOCDSon]

I also just went online to see about any side effects, etc. Several sites said not to take it more than 1 day, & TAKE PSYLLIUM HUSK with it. Apparently, the Bentonite Clay can severely constipate you. What they said was: the bentonite clay basically soaks up the toxins, and then drinking a lot of water, and taking psyllium husk will get it to move out of your system. But, they also said not to take it more than 1 day. I plan to try it on myself, before I try it on my kids (2 drs, including Dr. K. and a chiropractor have both told us that my 17 year old's PANDAS is coming from his stomach. My 14 yo also complains constantly about his stomach hurting when his PANDAS flairs up!) I have a terribly acidic stomach, and have been having to take 150 mg - 220 mg. twice a day of zantac to control my asthma. Any suggestions on brands you've had good luck with would be greatly appreciated.

I was concerned by what I found on-line, too, but thus far, no problems. I definitely DO encourage DS13 to drink plenty of water, especially on "clay days" (we're only using it every other day as of now), but we've had no constipation issues at all.

 

I get ours from Whole Foods; it comes via a liquid solution in a brown bottle labled "Great Plains Bentonite Clay." There is also the name "Yerba Prima" on red stripes on either sides of the front label, so I'm thinking that might be the brand?

 

Finally, just an experiential note regarding timing. The label definitely recommends taking it on an empty stomach, so we give it to DS before breakfast; however, there just aren't enough hours in the day (especially a school day) to space out the clay, abx, probiotics, supplements, etc. with a couple of hours inbetween each. Thus far, though, we've not noticed any negative impacts by serving him the clay, breakfast, abx and supplements within a relatively short period every other morning before he heads off to school. I suppose I'll research it more and see if we can't spread things out a little more at least over the summer. It might also be that we're not seeing any negative impacts from the clay potentially "washing away" some of the abx or supplements because we're only using it every other day.

[sf_mom]

We work with a nutritionist that uses this product Bentonite Clay, Great Plains, Detox 'outside of recommended doses' to no ill effect. I have been taking a cup daily since January and has only benefited me as well as our entire family inclusive of our: 3 year old twins and 6 year old son. We are also taking large doses of probiotics per her recommendation.

 

I strongly recommend if you are interested in supporting your child's well being from a homeopathic perspective and would like repair 'gut flora' our nutritionist has written a book and its available for $18.00 on her website or you can consult with her via the phone...... very reasonably. Her name is Donna Pessin and it is the same nutritionist Elizabeth works with on this forum. I will add, that her perspective on repairing gut flora is only one perspective but made sense to me only after researching further and also understanding that she has worked with numerous children successfully suffering from ADD, AD/HD, TS and other Auto-Immune illnesses. She has remained symptom free of her own auto-immune illness for 16 years after suffering for over 10 years.

 

More importantly, we felt if we were going to give our children daily antibiotics......... I needed some guidance that would help counter the ill effects and toxin 'die off' of the bacteria as I had no clue as to what I was doing prior to contacting her. I know many work with DAN Dr.'s in a similar fashion.

Edited May 31, 2010 by SF Mom

[dut]

SF Mom - could you remind us of your nutritionist's name and contact info/website.. thanks :-)

[sf_mom]

Donna Pessin: http://www.thisworkscrutchesdont.com/

 

SF Mom - could you remind us of your nutritionist's name and contact info/website.. thanks :-)

[dut]

thank you

[tpotter]

Thanks everyone for your feedback.